


All I Wanted, All I Needed

by ArchangelUnmei



Series: roadtrip rom com au [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Chocobos, Fluff, Galahdian cultural ramblings, Gen, Glaive!Prompto, M/M, More tags to be added, Romance, Side Story, silliness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-07 14:32:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14083008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchangelUnmei/pseuds/ArchangelUnmei
Summary: Being the Oracle is a full time job. So is being the Crown Prince of Lucis. They hardly have the time to see each other, let alone relax. It's a good thing they have Prompto and Nyx to help with that.(Noctis just wishes that their friends and advisors and - hell - all of Insomnia didn't treat their relationships like one ongoing rom com.)(Side stories set within and around the timeline ofSilver Moonlight, Golden Night.)





	1. i. prompto's oath ceremony (and his first meeting with nyx)

**Author's Note:**

> Side-stories (and smut) that take place within the timeline of _Silver Moonlight, Golden Night_ , mostly stuff I wanted to write but couldn't put in the main story without screwing up the pacing. May jump around a bit as far as chronology. This is also where I'll post any prompts people ask for from that 'verse. Enjoy!

"I want you to officially join my Glaive, Prom."

Prompto paused as those words filtered down through the layers of his brain and settled somewhere in his stomach. Slowly he lowered his camera and twisted around to look at Noctis. 

It was summer, hot and clear and Noctis had nowhere to be for once, so they'd climbed to the higher levels of the Citadel and let themselves out onto a little balcony with all of Insomnia spread out below them like a glittering carpet. Prompto had perched himself at the edge, legs wrapping around the metal guard rails as he fiddled with his camera settings, taking photos of the distant horizon and the gleaming sea. They'd talked for awhile but Noctis had eventually trailed off, and Prompto had thought he was napping. 

He was still stretched out on the sun-warmed concrete like a lazy cat, but his eyes were open the barest slits, watching Prompto. 

"Me? But-" Fumbling for anything to distract them, Prompto raised his camera and snapped a picture of Noctis, right there stretched out full length in the sun. He tried to swallow back the anxiety rising in the back of his throat. He knew better than to question Noctis on the 'why'. Prompto wasn't dumb, he knew that people Noctis considered real friends were very rare, and that he was offering Prompto not just his trust but also a reason to stay by his side that no one would ever dare question. 

But Prompto wasn't a fighter. He knew what being a Glaive meant; he'd charmed his way into Kingsglaive training sessions sometimes to practice taking photos of high-energy things in motion. Watching them warp around from point to point, weapons clashing as they sparred and dodged was awe-inspiring. The Glaive were fast and agile, the best of the best and everything Prompto would never be. If he joined the Glaive he would be expected to protect Noctis, and he could never forgive himself if something happened on his watch because he was a terrible fighter- 

"Prompto," 

Prompto's head jerked up as Noctis rolled over, propped himself up on one elbow and reached out to lay a hand on Prompto's arm. His eyes were very blue in the sunlight, not blue like the ice they usually made Prompto think of, but blue like the shallow oceans around Insomnia, ebbing and flowing and full of life. "Please." 

And all of Prompto's protests just melted away. 

It turned out Noctis had already talked to his dad, and all that was left was the formalities. 

"Stop fidgeting, Prom, you're going to be fine." 

Prompto swallowed, shifting his shoulders in the unfamiliar tightness of the Kingsglaive's jacket. "Right, right, all I have to do is go before the King and the magic glowing Crystal and all the Astrals and-" 

"Stop," Patiently, Gladio pulled Prompto's hands away from his collar before he could pull the fabric out of shape. "The ceremony is actually very private. Just Noct, and his dad. That's it. Keep breathing, and you'll be fine." 

"Right," Prompto made himself take that deep breath, reaching up to push his glasses more firmly up his nose. "...D'you think I should have gotten contacts?" 

"Once you start warp training, definitely. For now, quit stalling." Gladio put a hand firmly on Prompto's shoulder and turned him around, propelling him down the hall to where his father, Clarus, was standing with two Glaives outside the huge, ornate doors to the Crystal Chamber. Both Glaives were in clear guarding stances, but that didn't stop both of them from giving him solemn nods. Prompto recognized Crowe from the practices he'd sat in on to photograph, and the other was- 

Prompto stalled, resisting Gladio's attempt to push him forward, but this time he had a reason to pause. The Glaive standing guard opposite Crowe was taller than Prompto, with thick black hair shorn close on the sides and twisted into a few ornate braids down the back. He met Prompto's wide-eyed stare with a calm, vaguely amused one of his own, his eyes grey like stormclouds over the sea. For a moment, Prompto's fingers itched with the familiar urge to catch that liquid expression on film, but he pressed it down firmly and refocused on the reason he'd dug in his heels. 

The man was wearing the stark black-and-charcoal Kingsglaive uniform, just like Crowe. He was standing in an identical stance, feet apart and hands clasped loosely behind him, ready to draw the knives strapped at the small of his back and jump into action at the slightest call. But there was a pin affixed to the lapel of his uniform collar, a pin that Prompto had never seen on any other Glaive. He curled his fingers to keep from reaching up to touch the identical pin on his own collar. 

A silver Carbuncle, with the tiniest ruby flecks for eyes. The cue, for those who knew what to look for, that they were not a part of _Regis'_ Kingsglaive. 

They were Noctis'. 

Nyx Ulric gave him a solemn nod, lips curling up in the slightest hint of a smile, and then Clarus and Gladio were pulling the doors open with a groan of heavy hinges and it was time for Prompto to face his future. 

Inside, the room that held the Crystal was all gleaming metal and glass, reflecting the light that shone down from the skylight above. This was the heart of the Citadel, positioned directly between the towering spires. The floor was inlaid with a pattern of radiating rays, all leading to the thick case in the center of the room. Today, the blast- proof casing was open, and Prompto found himself staring entranced at the flickering, pulsing blue light of the Crystal. 

(Noct's eyes weren't ice or ocean at all, some corner of Prompto's brain noted. Now that he'd seen it in person, he'd never be able to see anything but the light of the Crystal shining in his eyes.) 

Movement finally tore his attention away from the Crystal; Regis shifting his stance just to the left of the Crystal, his hands curled formally over the head of his cane, the Ring of the Lucii pulsing in time to the Crystal's heart. Prompto only half-noticed he was standing there, though, because Noctis stepped up to stand in front of him and offer him a slightly self-conscious smile. 

For all his nerves, Prompto had to fight back the urge to break into slightly hysterical giggles. _He_ felt stifled and out of place in the Kingsglaive uniform, but Noctis was wearing super formal princely attire that Prompto had never seen him in before. Prompto really wished he had his camera, because Noctis looked elegant and regal and _really fucking uncomfortable_. 

Noctis knew he was biting back laughter, too, because he wrinkled his nose and made a face, his back safely toward Regis, and mouthed 'my mother'. Prompto grinned, and Noctis relaxed enough to smile before taking Prompto's hand and pulling him forward. 

Prompto swallowed, all his mirth draining out of him as he walked closer to the Crystal to face it directly. This was it, this was serious. There was no going back from opening himself up to the Astrals' judgement. 

But Noct was worth it. 

There'd been meetings beforehand, of course. Noctis and Regis sat down with him and talked through what his duties would be, what it would mean to swear himself into Noctis' Glaive. And then Gladio and Ignis had taken him out for ice cream - without Noctis for once \- and given him a frank description of what he'd be facing, what their own oaths had been like. Prompto had been insanely grateful, and now he didn't hesitate to drop to one knee, bowing his head and letting Noctis place his hand on the brilliant Crystal. 

It was warm. That surprised Prompto the most. He'd been expecting cold rock, but it was warm, and it shocked him into raising his head. He found himself no longer kneeling in the Crystal Chamber, though the tile floor was still beneath his knee. Noctis and Regis and even the Crystal itself were gone, replaced by an echoing, whispering darkness that seemed to rush and ebb around him like the tides of the sea. Luckily Gladio and Ignis had both warned him about this, and so Prompto swallowed and stayed on bended knee. 

"H-hello?" he called out into the darkness, somehow feeling intimidated and silly all at once. "My name is Prompto Argentum, born in Niflheim but raised in Insomnia. I wish to join the Kingsglaive of Noctis Lucis Caelum." 

For a long moment there was nothing, and then several figures seemed to step out of the darkness all around them. Prompto couldn't see any of them very clearly; just impressions of armour and cloaks and swords, each of them with a faint glow around their left hands where the Ring of the Lucii left its mark even in death. He didn't try to look too closely, and tried not to be scared. 

When the voice came, it didn't echo, but neither did it come from any of the figures in particular, drifting down out of the darkness. "You swear to serve the line of Lucis for life?" 

Prompto licked his lips. Ignis and Gladio had both said the prior kings might try to twist his words around, and that he should only say exactly what he meant. Prompto had agonized for a week over the exact wording of his oath, but now that it came time to say it, it seemed the easiest thing in the world. "I swear to serve _Noctis Lucis Caelum_ unto death. I can neither shield him nor guide him, but I am his all the same. Anything he needs or wishes of me, from now until the day I die, I will stay by his side." 

A ripple went through the darkness around him, the figures shifting as though confering with each other, and Prompto got the skin-crawling feeling he was being weighed heavily. "Very well," the answer finally came, and Prompto nearly collapsed in relief. "Your oath is cast. Watch our prince well, little Quicksilver." 

The darkness rippled again, and then exploded into a burst of light that filled Prompto's eyes. He squeaked at the sudden, painful brightness, blinking away spots to find himself back in the Crystal Chamber with Noctis peering anxiously down at him. "Prom-!" 

"Ow," Prompto took his hand off the Crystal so he could take off his glasses and rub at his eyes. "Your ancestors are dicks." 

He didn't mean to say it, but it made him feel a lot better when Regis started laughing.


	2. ii. how did regis and nyx meet?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there is no war and the Galahdians are not refugees, how/why did Nyx join the Kingsglaive?

The short version - Regis wasn't paying attention, Drautos is trigger-happy, and Galahdian chocobo are very, _very_ different than Lucian ones.

The long version is this: 

Nyx was nineteen and bored out of his skull. 

It was autumn, which meant colder rain than usual, veering into sleet and snow at unexpected intervals, and the Lucian king had picked _now_ for a diplomatic tour of the islands. Nyx's mother told him to behave; the queen was very sick, and no one was sure if she would recover, and likely King Regis was trying to distract himself from worry by keeping busy. Nyx didn't really see how that was his problem, since the visit directly inconvenienced him. As part of his clan's honor guard, he was required to accompany the Lucian delegation and the clan elders as they tromped around in the muck. 

The Lucians had already been through Galahd, the largest island for which the entire chain got its Lucian name and home to the largest clans. Nyx wasn't sure why they'd decided to come to Caicias at all, since all of them looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. One of the king's two bodyguards looked like he'd been eating sour fruit all morning, and the other looked like he might be coming down with a cold. (Not a surprise; their metal armour and flimsy cloaks weren't exactly suited to late-October Galahdian damp.) The king himself just looked very tired, although his back was straight and he was polite to the elders as the little procession made its way from the docks and through the little town that had grown up around them. Nyx's actual hometown - Caicias' main city, with its Temple of Garuda and clan council buildings - was about a ten minute drive away. 

As they passed out of the little cluster of buildings and toward the waiting cars, there was a quiet 'wark!' from off to one side. The entire group turned to look, and there were a few pleased gasps as the delicate chocobo stepped out from the edge of the forest. She was a beautiful little thing, her head probably level with Nyx's shoulder, and the quartz and amber beads glittering amongst her light silver feathers marked her as one of Garuda's blessed messengers. 

Nyx grinned, spirits lifted a little. Maybe this day wouldn't be too bad if he got to see a chocobo this close. They were often _around_ , flying overhead or foraging in the underbrush, but they didn't come close to the humans much unless they had reason to. 

And then he saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, King Regis stepping out from between his guards and toward the chocobo, his hand out-stretched. Nyx tensed, as did several of the other Galahdians, a warning on the tip of his tongue, but the chocobo reacted first. She was beautiful, but she was not tame, and she would suffer no fools. Especially not grubby-handed foreign fools with no beads in their hair. 

As Regis moved toward her with clear intent to touch she let out a shrill scream of rage and struck at him. Her beak rasped loudly but harmlessly against his metal bracer and he jerked back in shock. The chocobo reared, wings flapping in furious agitation, and it was clear that on the next strike she would aim for something far more vital than his arm. One of his guards - Nyx would learn in about ten minutes that his name was Clarus - snapped a hand out to grab Regis by the arm and haul him backward, a shimmering shield appearing between the king and the bird. 

The other guard - Titus Drautos, Nyx would learn - stepped forward, and the rasp of his sword being unsheathed was loud even against the chocobo's shriek. 

The wind off the water, which before had been a gentle breeze, suddenly picked up to the intensity of a howling gale. It whipped around them, tangling the Lucians' cloaks and blowing Nyx's hair out of his face so he could see even as it stung tears from his eyes. The Galahdians gasped and huddled together, a few of them dropping to their knees in the face of Garuda's fury at the threat to one of her Messengers. 

Nyx didn't even think. He ran forward, slamming his shoulder into Drautos' armoured midsection and throwing him sideways. Nyx felt the chocobo's razor-sharp beak score a hit against his shoulder where she had been aiming for Drautos and he winced, but he was far more worried about the stupid Lucian and his sword than he was the bird. 

Drautos stumbled but didn't fall, and when he regained his balance he snarled at Nyx, who was now standing firmly between him and the still furious chocobo. "What-" 

"You will not hurt her without running me through first," Nyx said, loudly and clearly to make sure he was heard over the wind. "Put your damned sword away." 

Drautos looked furious at being told what to do by a scrap of a Galahdian commoner, but then Regis shook off Clarus' hand and stepped forward, drawing all their attention. 

"Put your damn sword away," Regis said dryly, and though he didn't raise his voice they all heard him anyway. Drautos looked like he was about to have a stroke, but did as he was bid. Regis looked at Nyx for a moment, then his attention turned to the chocobo. 

"I'm sorry," he said, addressing the bird directly and making no move toward her again. "My son loves chocobos, I forgot for a moment that I am a guest here." 

The chocobo calmed, tilting her head a little to regard Regis out of one dark eye, and as she calmed so did the howling winds. Then she 'wark'ed quietly again and lowered her head to nudge her beak against Nyx's uninjured shoulder in apology of her own. 

That drew Regis' - and Clarus' and Drautos' and, well, _everyone's_ \- attention back to him again. Nyx straightened, realizing abruptly that he might have just averted a diplomatic incident, but might be about to cause another. Selena and Libertus and Crowe would never let him live this down. "Uh, Nyx Ulric," he paused. "Your Majesty." 

"That was very brave of you. Potentially foolish, but brave," Regis paused, watching as the chocobo nudged Nyx's shoulder again, gently. Nyx raised a hand, not to touch her but to _offer_ the touch. She cooed and happily inserted her neck under his hand so he could gently stroke at her soft feathers. 

"They, um." Nyx floundered, and swallowed, caught under the king's surprisingly penetrating gaze. "They're wild, but not stupid. They serve Garuda, same as me, so I was pretty sure she wouldn't attack _me_. I was a lot more worried about _him_." He nodded toward Drautos. 

Regis chuckled, even as Drautos hissed in indignation. "Come along, Nyx Ulric. You should get that shoulder looked at, and I would like to speak with you some more. Have you ever considered coming to Insomnia?" 

Nyx blinked. Something in the king's tone, the sly expression on his face... "Are you offering me a job?" 

Drautos sputtered, and Regis' smile widened. The chocobo moved away from Nyx, and as his hand slid down her neck, something caught against his nail and tumbled down into his palm. He curled his fingers around it instinctively, and with a happy warble the chocobo trotted back toward the forest, her mission complete. 

Nyx swallowed hard, closing his fist tight around the amber bead that would forever mark this day, no matter what he decided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nyx needs to stop taking over my keyboard OTL


	3. iii. prompto's non-mt origin story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto is clearly not an MT. How come to Insomnia, Prom?

Prompto didn't remember much of his life in Gralea. White walls, blending into gray walls, which might have been the hospital, or the orphanage, but none of it was really worth remembering. He was only four when he left, and in many ways he considered that the _real_ start of his life.

He did remember bits and pieces of the train ride. It took days, which to a toddler seemed like years. He sat on someone's lap (the caretaker? That bit he couldn't remember) and pressed his chubby hands to the window, watching in wonder as the whole world flew by. The blue sylleblossoms of Tenebrae stood out in his mind, bright colour he couldn't remember ever seeing before, certainly not spread out in endless fields. The mountains of Cleigne were unimpressive, but Duscae was all green, and Leide was all _sand_. 

The train veered north and took them as far as Cavaugh, just outside Insomnia's towering walls. Prompto held tight to his caretaker's hand as they got off the train, and she scooped him up to carry as they made their way through the station to the customs checkpoint and the slightly bored-looking Crownsguard stationed there. 

"Business or pleasure?" he asked, though he was looking curiously at the blond-haired Prompto. (As he grew up, Prompto learned that he probably couldn't look more Niff if he _tried_ , especially among the overwhelmingly dark-haired Lucians.) 

"A little of both," Prompto's caretaker said. "Delivering this little one to his late mother's cousins, they've applied to adopt him." 

"Well then," the Crownsguard looked a little more animated, and smiled at Prompto. He squeaked and hid his face, and the man laughed warmly. "Welcome to Insomnia, little one. I hope you like it here." He gestured that they could go on, and Prompto's caretaker carried him through the gate. 

Prompto peeked through his fingers, and then gasped in dazzled wonder. 

Insomnia was so _big_ ; wide avenues and tall buildings glittering in the sunlight. Just inside the Cavaugh Gate was a fountain, and Prompto remembered very clearly his first sight of it - spraying mists of water in beautiful arcs, the spires of the Citadel rising in the distance behind it. 

Even at four, he wanted to keep that sight forever, so he could look at it whenever he wanted. 

He credited that, even years later, with sparking his love of photography. When his new adoptive parents got him his first camera for his eighth birthday, he dragged them back to the Cavaugh Gate to finally capture the fountain he'd always wanted. 

The picture, printed and framed, hung over his bed for years, and he took it with him when he moved into the Citadel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing shadowy or mysterious, he's just a kid from Gralea. :)

**Author's Note:**

> [Come hang out with me on tumblr :)](https://archangelunmei.tumblr.com)


End file.
